This article reports an exploratory investigation of individual perceptions of factors that underlie the use of collaborative electronic media (electronic mail, World Wide Web, list serves, and other collaborative systems) for sharing information in a large state university in Australia. The model
builds on the Constant et al.'s theory of information sharing. We propose that perceptions of
information culture, attitudes regarding information ownership and propensity to share, as well as
task and personal factors in¯uence people's use of collaborative media. We found that task characteristics (task interdependence), perceived information usefulness and the user's computer comfort were most strongly associated with the person's use of collaborative media. Consistent with Constant et al.'s earlier ®ndings, views of information ownership and propensity to share were signi®cantly related to use. Interestingly, use of electronic media for sharing information and contacting people was weakly associated with a more structured, closed information culture. This implies that heavy users and sharers want more structured information ¯ow in place, possibly due to their need to have reliable access to other individual's knowledge and information. Contrary to suggestions in the literature, a fully open, organic information culture may not always be most desirable. Implications for knowledge managers, practitioners and researchers are suggested.